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Illustration for Psalm 53: Only God Is Good

Psalm 53

Only God Is Good

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This psalm is very similar to Psalm 14. It says that when God looked down from heaven, He found that people had gone the wrong way. No one is perfectly good on their own — we all need God to rescue us and bring us back to Him.

  1. 1The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good.
  2. 2God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.
  3. 3All have turned away; they have together become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one.
  4. 4Will these evildoers never learn? They devour my people as they devour bread; they do not call on God.
  5. 5But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there is nothing to dread. God scattered the bones of those who attacked you; you put them to shame, for God rejected them.
  6. 6Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

What it means

When God looked at the whole world, He saw that nobody is perfectly good all by themselves — and that includes every one of us. That sounds like bad news, but it is really the beginning of good news: it means we all need rescuing, and God is the Rescuer.

A little prayer

God, I know I am not perfect and I cannot make myself good on my own. Thank You that You already know that and love me anyway. Please rescue me and bring me close to You. Amen.

Memory verse

“God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.”

Psalm 53:2 (BSB)

It shows God searching rather than judging from a distance.

Talk about it

Questions with no single right answer — for a family table or a Sunday-school circle.

  1. This psalm is almost the same as Psalm 14. Why might the same song get written down twice?
  2. It says God looks down to see if anyone has understanding. What does understanding mean here?
  3. Is saying there is no God the same as living as though there is no God?
  4. What would change about today if you really believed God was watching, kindly?

Try this

Same song twice

Read Psalm 14 and Psalm 53 side by side and mark every difference you can find. Talk about why a song worth keeping might be sung again with small changes.

You will need: Two Bibles or two printouts, and a highlighter.

Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB)